That's Life
by Catherine Grissom
Summary: B/G, F/Wes, W/X, A/S WARNING! THIS IS VERY INSANE!


Title: That's Life Author: FG/SG wanna be'z Rating: R for sexual situations and language Pairing: B/G, Fa/Wes, Will/X, A/S, and finally D/original character Summary: The gang gets together to play a game of 'Life', they have a plan for the watcher and his slayer, and what the hell are Wesley and Faith doing there. Disclaimer: They are ours, all ours. I wish. Joss owns them, lucky bastard. (Or the game) Feedback: wesleyz_gurl@yahoo.com and kleopatra_gurl@yahoo.com Very much so! Distribution: Buffy/Giles Archive, Going Rogue Archive, and fanfiction.net Dedication: To everyone and anyone who wants a dedication!  
  
"Willow, do you think this'll work?"  
  
Willow looked up at Xander; "It has to."  
  
"Well, if the Watcher doesn't shag her soon, I'll personally buy him a wench," Spike added. Willow, Xander, and Anya turned and gave him looks that could kill. Good thing he was already dead. "You were all thinkin' it too."  
  
Anya shook her head, "Spike has a point, Giles so needs to be fucked. Badly!" She added as an after thought.  
  
Willow and Xander yelled, "Anya!"  
  
While Spike just laughed and added, "That's my demon!" Anya gave him a small smile.  
  
Willow and Xander shared a look. When they had found out that the other two were dating, they didn't like but slowly grew into the idea that they actually loved each other.  
  
"Okay, as much as I want to do this for Giles and Buffy, I would really like you to stop using the word Giles in any sentence with sex in it. It sends me to the land called, Scary Visual Place." After Xander had said that all of their eyes glazed over.  
  
"Okay, who brought the game?" Willow said desperately trying to change the subject before they said something even more disgusting.  
  
"Are you sure we should be here? I mean what if they're still mad at me." Faith stood, fidgeting, before the ex-watcher's door.  
  
Wesley stood next to her, calmly. "Faith, Mr. Giles is a reasonable man. I'm sure he'll listen."  
  
At that moment the door was thrown open by a very disheveled looking Rupert Giles, clad in a clingy, black T-shirt and a pair of blue, plaid pajama bottoms. Wesley's eyes grew to the size of saucers while Faith's jaw hit the floor.  
  
'Screw the tweed, I like this! Why do I always fall for the watchers?' A look of horror passed over Faith's face. 'Did I just think what I thought I thought?' She looked over at Wesley. 'Goddamn, he's hot! Shit! Did I just think that? Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Shit! Shit! Shit!'  
  
Buffy sashayed up to stand next to Giles. She was wearing a top that looked as if it were made of mere inches of fabric and a pair of pajama bottoms that almost matched Giles'. This time it was Wesley's jaw that hit the floor. Faith was too busy thinking to even notice.  
  
'Shit, and I thought she was sexy in mini-skirts, but damn she was even hotter in NAPPIES.' "Hot, very hot." He whispered.  
  
Giles obviously heard this cause he shot Wesley a look that simply said MINE. "Ah, Wesley, do come in." Wesley dragged Faith with him, and was very pink. But when he passed Giles, he was grabbed by the shoulder and Giles whispered in his ear, "I see that you still have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone."  
  
Wesley looked at him and Giles saw Wesley's eyes were slightly red. "I wish," Wesley said in a hushed voice and Giles noticed his voice carried longing and pain.  
  
He left Giles at the door. Giles stared out of his apartment and wondered what had happened to the man and most importantly. Why the hell was he with Faith. The younger man looked like he'd been through hell and back, but there was one thing he did not look: Suicidal.  
  
Later that night, Buffy, Giles (still in their P.J. s), Faith and Wesley were seated around Giles living room. They had sat there for the good part of an hour studying each other.  
  
Buffy and Giles looked at the Slayer that had tried to kill them so many times in the past, and then looked at the former watcher who had been their ally before he had moved to L.A.  
  
They both looked different from when Buffy and Giles had seen them last. Faith's hair had been cut in jagged layers, giving her the exotic look of an Amazonian warrior. Wesley looked . . . well, for lack of a better word, scruffy. His hair was longer and unkempt, and he had abandoned the stiff, formal suits and was wearing the more relaxed look of jeans and a T- shirt. He was also missing those glasses that he had hardly ever taken off during his stay in Sunnydale. Together they looked like they had just been released from prison, which in Faith's case was almost true.  
  
While Wesley was seated on the couch, Faith was comfortably seated on the floor between his legs. Wesley was gently, almost tenderly, petting Faith's hair. If Faith had been a cat, she would have been purring. Buffy and Giles shared a look. If these two weren't a couple yet, they would be soon.  
  
Faith and Wesley looked at their former friends. Watcher and Slayer had apparently grown closer over time. Faith and Wesley were both wondering why the hell were they still in their pajamas. Not that either was complaining, of course. They were also wondering if the other two were a couple. Giles had his arm around Buffy's shoulders and she was slightly leaning into his embrace.  
  
Giles slowly leaned against Buffy, bringing his mouth up to her ear and whispered something to her. While he was telling her. Whatever it was, her eyes began to get large and round. When he stopped, she looked at him with complete shock. "Giles!" She said in a very husky voice and swatted at him playfully, as he shot her a Ripper smile.  
  
Then they both turned and looked at Wesley and Faith, they had their serious faces on, but the image faltered at the site of Buffy going a rather strange shade of pink.  
  
Giles just stared at them.  
  
Faith tapped Wesley's knee and motioned him to lean down. He did and was met by Faith's mouth at his ear, "God, I said it before and I'm saying it again." She paused and moved upward causing her mouth to graze his neck, she stop and breathed on the back of his neck; he visibly shuddered. "They sooo need to fuck," she breathed across his neck.  
  
He turned his head so their lips almost touched, "Maybe. They already have. Love." He threw a smile and leaned back into the sofa, as Faith's insides turned to rubber at the word 'love' and slightly giggled at Wesley's words.  
  
Giles' and Buffy's head shot up at the sound of Faith giggling. They looked at each other and shared a look that said it all. This was Faith, right?  
  
At that moment, the doorbell rang, much to the displeasure of Buffy, who lost her warm pillow when Giles got up to see who was at the door.  
  
"Hello, what brings you here?" Giles's low voice floated through the room.  
  
"We thought that if Buffy wasn't busy we could have a game night," Willow's voice replied.  
  
"That's not a prob right G-man?" Xander teasingly asked. The voices were getting closer, so Buffy assumed the group was coming towards the living room.  
  
"Don't call me that. And no it is not a problem, Xander." He stressed the last syllable of the word, apparently so that Xander would learn that there was a "lem" at the end.  
  
"We brought 'Life'!" Anya's eager voice added. The group was nearly in the living room.  
  
"Yeah, you sodding Americans play your bloody pointless American games and eat your sodding American snacks while I starve!" Spike damn near growled.  
  
"I was expecting you to be back soon." Giles said. "I have some pig's blood in the refrigerator."  
  
The group turned the corner and froze at what they saw. Giles merely crossed the room and reclaimed his seat on the couch.  
  
Wesley broke the silence. "It's OK. Faith's not going to harm you in any way. She got out on parole."  
  
The Scoobies turned to the Slayer who merely nodded her head, which was still resting on her Watcher's chest.  
  
Their fears appeased the group found seats around the comfortable room. Willow sat contently on Xander's lap as he sat in a large chair, while Anya and Spike sat near Faith and Wes.  
  
"Ooh!" Willow said. "I almost forgot. I put together a C.D. of music that we can all agree on," At Giles's raised brow she added "Well, except for Spike and maybe Faith."  
  
Giles, apparently unconvinced, asked, "What kind of music?"  
  
"Oh, umm.Chris Cagle, Dingoes Ate My Baby, Sarah McLachlan, Jewel," The eyebrow rose another inch. "Rebecca Lynn Howard, Backstreet Boys, Savage Garden, and Celine Dion."  
  
To everyone's surprise Giles actually smiled at the last three names. Wesley seemed to be pleased also. Buffy and Faith were looking at the two incredulously. Xander was pleased. Spike looked.well pissed.  
  
"You are shittin' me!" Faith shrieked. "You," she gestured to the Watchers "are down with listening to new music!"  
  
"Well, I have grown quite fond of the Backstreet Boys, and Savage Garden, Celine however," Giles spoke of the singer as though she were a long lost friend. "I have been a fan of Celine since she was still singing French."  
  
Buffy smirked at the fact that Giles didn't see all of her music as 'incoherent noise' that would have his 'brain dribbling out of his ears'. There was hope for him yet. Wesley's apparent satisfaction startled her though. She couldn't picture him listening to anything other than Brahms and Beethoven. Not that there was anything wrong with two of Giles's favorite composers, she mentally kicked herself for thinking that.  
  
"Alright, it passes inspection," Giles joked. "Put it in the C.D. player."  
  
The opening strains of Rebecca Lynn Howard's "Memorized" floated through the still air as Willow, Buffy and Faith set up the game.  
  
All these nights alone Without your hand to hold You still feel so close Almost like a ghost  
  
Giles visibly shivered. He moved closer to Buffy and helped with the set-up of the game.  
  
Every little sigh The taste of the tears you cried The way you held my face Your strength, your fears, your grace The things that you believed I remember everything Your face, your skin, your eyes I've got you memorized  
  
Buffy made a mental note to buy this album. Hell, if it got Giles closer to her it was worth it.  
  
I just can't forget The linger of your scent Sweet and innocent Just like a baby's breath I still feel you And I hear you  
  
'God,' Giles thought, 'this reminds me of the time when I thought I had lost Buffy forever. Chin up, Old Man. Don't let anyone know.'  
  
Every little sigh The taste of the tears you cried The way you held my face Your strength, your fears, your grace The things that you believed I remember everything Your face, your skin, your eyes I've got you memorized  
  
Every little sigh The taste of the tears you cried The way you held my face Your strength, your fears, your grace  
  
You will always be The only one for me I'll never let you go Deep in my heart I know You are my only one My earth, my moon, my sun  
  
Every little sigh The sound of your last goodbye I've got you memorized  
  
"Damn allergies!" Giles said as he left the room. If he was going to wallow in self-pity, he was going to do it alone.  
  
I've got you memorized  
  
Wesley had been watching the older man and took it upon himself to make sure he was all right. He excused himself and walked to the kitchen where Giles had disappeared.  
  
I've got you memorized  
  
As the song faded, Wesley found Giles. He was loading up a tray of things that the gang had insisted he keep for them to snack on during long hours of research. Tears were in his eyes, but they didn't fall.  
  
"Damnit, I should have told her." He said to himself, still not aware of Wesley's presence.  
  
Wesley had heard idle whispers about a woman named Jenny Calendar who had died at the hands of Angelus. It had been rumored that Giles had loved her. So, logically, Wesley assumed he was referring to her.  
  
"It's quite alright. You couldn't have known." Giles jumped, startled but Wesley continued. "I'm sure, wherever she is she knows now."  
  
"She doesn't and I don't have the 'guts' to tell her." Giles spat bitterly. "I run just when she needs me most. I run because I'm scared." Off of Wesley's confused look he quickly added, "Not of the danger, but of my feelings. I'm scared that she doesn't feel the same way. But I'm too much of a pansy to find out for sure."  
  
It hit Wesley like lightning. The song hadn't reminded him of Jenny, It had reminded him of Buffy. Giles loved Buffy. "I don't think you need to worry about that." Giles looked up. The tears were gone now, replaced by hope. "She loves you. I can see it. Why can't you?"  
  
"Giles, you O.K.?" It was Willow's voice.  
  
"I was just gathering up a few things," Giles replied. He turned to Wesley and mouthed, "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," Wesley told him. Then he mentally kicked himself. He was the exact same way about Faith.  
  
When the Watchers emerged from the kitchen Buffy, Faith and Willow were all playing 'Life' and seemingly enjoying themselves. Willow was winning. She had just landed on the "Get Married" space and had named her "husband" Xander. Faith was just behind her. She had just had her first "Payday." Buffy was going to be lucky if she ever got out of "College." She had gotten out, only to be sent back when she landed on a space that told her to do so.  
  
"I knew it!" The Slayer exclaimed. "I'm doomed. Even a board game resembles my life."  
  
On Faith's next turn she landed on the dreaded space known as "Get Married" She stared at the blue piece for a while before Buffy said those fateful words.  
  
"Name him Wesley."  
  
Faith stopped dead. Wesley choked on his tea. Everyone else started laughing. When met with piercing glares, the laughter stopped.  
  
"It's your turn B." Faith said.  
  
Buffy spun and somehow landed on the "Get Married" space. A look of sheer horror passed over the Slayer's face. She knew what was coming. Slowly she picked up the tiny blue piece. She placed it in the "car."  
  
"What's his name?" Willow asked, already knowing that the answer would most likely be Angel. Buffy still missed him. Although she rarely showed it everyone knew.  
  
"Rupert!" Buffy said with a hint of 'Duh!' in her voice.  
  
If Giles hadn't decided to take a sip of his tea at that precise moment, he wouldn't have choked. When he got his coughing under control he assumed the 'deer-in-the-headlights look.' His "what the hell just happened" look, combined with Buffy's "I'm confused, why weren't you expecting that?" look sent all present, save the two previously mentioned, into fits of laughter.  
  
Buffy turned to Giles, as though expecting to see a reason for their friends' laughter. When she saw the look on his face she began to laugh uncontrollably. It was just too damn funny. He'd never looked that confused in all the time she'd known him.  
  
Giles's confusion quickly turned to amused anger. He glared at the others. Spike, Anya, Willow, Xander, and Wesley shut up almost immediately. Wesley began to attempt to calm Faith down by gently massaging her shoulders. Buffy was still laughing and mumbling incoherently. Giles angled his head slightly and watched her.  
  
She was completely unaware she was being watched. It made him smile. He hadn't seen her laugh for so long.  
  
When she finally stopped to breathe, she noted the confused glances from her friends and the amused glare from her watcher. She also noted that his normally light green eyes had gone dark. 'Whoa, Down girl. Now you're noting changes in his eyes?! Come on! He's Giles, and he's older than you, and he's like a dad, and he-he's Giles!' She thought.  
  
Aloud she said, "Whoa, Ripper. Down Boy."  
  
Willow, Xander, Anya and Spike looked at the watcher with looks that clearly said 'You are sooo Slayer-whipped.' Faith and Wes just plain looked confused.  
  
"Ripper?!" They asked in unison.  
  
"Younger Giles." Willow said.  
  
"Yeah." Buffy added. "Less 'Together-Guy', more 'Black-Magic-Hates-The- World-Ticking-Time-Bomb-Guy.'"  
  
Giles had to smile. He just couldn't help it. Buffy had accurately described his 'Ripper' persona from one previous encounter with said persona, an encounter that had happened when she was still in High School, no less.  
  
"Hey, lookie everybody! Giles is back." Willow said excitedly.  
  
"I wasn't aware I had left." Giles said pointedly.  
  
Spike snorted. That in itself was quite a feat, seeing as the vampire didn't breathe.  
  
"Pig." Buffy said.  
  
Spike gave a two-fingered salute. Middle and ring finger held to the palm by the thumb while the forefinger and pinkie stood straight out. This simple gesture reduced the watchers to giggling schoolboys.  
  
"What are you two laughing about?" Faith asked them.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Buffy asked Spike.  
  
"I-it-it m-m-means," Giles began. "It means 'fuck off.'"  
  
"That's funny," Xander said, thoughtfully. "He sure looks like Giles."  
  
Buffy was still trying to get over the fact that Giles had cursed. Much less said the "F word." He was usually so stuffy. What on earth was going on? Maybe it was Ethan again. She doubted it. Ethan would have already announced his presence if it were him. Anyway, Ethan was stuck in that missile silo thingy that the Initiative had locked him up in. Then again, Ethan was a slippery little weasel. He might have escaped after the Initiative broke up. Giles was probably just. Giles's sudden presence next to her disrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Buffy, are you alright?" He sounded worried. " I've asked you three times if you wanted anything to drink."  
  
Buffy flushed. She had spaced out...thinking about Giles! A little voice in her head said 'liar.' 'Liar.' 'Liar, liar, pants on fire!' 'Sure you are.'  
  
"Buffy?" Giles again interrupted her thoughts.  
  
Buffy followed the hand that was waving slowly in front of her face. Specifically, the ring on the finger that was connected to the hand that was waving in front of her face, but enough with the specifics.  
  
Buffy flushed deeper and quietly asked for a mug of tea. She looked at Willow and Faith and noted the slack-jawed expressions on their faces, wishing she had a camera. She turned to look at Giles, but he had left to get the drinks for the group: Soda for Xander and Anya, tea for her, Willow and himself, and coffee, black, for Faith and Wes. Spike was focusing on the thermos of hot chocolate, with the little marshmallows, that Anya had brought.  
  
Buffy turned back to the game and noticed that the little car pieces had moved and that Willow's orange car now sported one pink piece and two blue ones.  
  
"Oh! Is it my turn? 'Cause I really wasn't paying attention and I kinda spaced out and.." She trailed off at their looks. "Shutting up now."  
  
Willow grinned at the use of her phrase. She nodded to Buffy, who spun the little spinner, which landed on four. That put Buffy at the "Night School. Pay $20,000" space. She glared at Willow and paid her the money, as she was the teacher.  
  
Will was doing pretty good. She was the "Teacher" had a salary of $100,000 and owned the Victorian mansion. She had a 'baby boy' and had purchased both Homeowners' and Automobile Insurance. Faith had just landed on the "Buy A House" space and now owned a quaint little Country Cottage. She had her insurance and a job as a Travel Agent with a salary of $80,000. She was in second place. Poor Buffy had a job as a policeman (Oh the irony!) and a salary of only $60,000 and had yet to purchase her house.  
  
"Y'know, I'm beginning to become annoyed," Buffy said.  
  
It was Will's turn. She spun and got seven. She happily put the pink piece in the car.  
  
Giles had returned from the kitchen to bring Xander and Anya their sodas and hand out the rest of the drinks. He reclaimed his seat and watched the game.  
  
Faith spun next. Putting her at the "Twins" space. She placed the pink and blue pieces in the car. She looked at Wes mock coquettish. He grinned in response.  
  
It was Buffy's turn. She looked as though she were going to either break the thing or cry. She spun..and got a six. That put her at the "Buy A House" space. She drew a card. It was a Tudor house. It was expensive, but she covered the cost without a complaint.  
  
Will's turn gave her another son. Willow shot a glance to Xander who was happily sitting behind and slightly to the left of her. He glanced at the 'car' and nearly choked. This sent the girls into giggles.  
  
Faith's turn was productive for her also. She landed on payday and received her salary. Oh yeah, things were going her way.  
  
Buffy timidly spun the wheel. "1", "Payday". Well not everything was going wrong. She took her salary.  
  
Will spun next. "8", "Baby boy". Willow's first "car" was officially full. Xander looked about to faint.  
  
Faith again. "Vote".   
  
Buffy spun. "7", "Twins".  
  
Xander got up, crossed the room, stood next to Giles and patted the older man on the back. "Congratulations. Twins." The glare that he received for that comment must have been rehearsed to be so fierce. Xander nearly tripped over himself on his way back to his seat.  
  
Willow smiled and spun. "Win Beautiful Baby Contest, collect $10,000."  
  
"Better not have Red's hair and his eyes..'Cause if so that kid would be bloody hideous."  
  
"Spike!" Two voices said simultaneously.  
  
Faith smirked and proceeded to take her turn. "Baby Boy" She placed the small blue piece in the car and motioned to Buffy to take her turn  
  
Giles had been staring intently at the game board for the past ten minutes. He looked as if he suspected something.  
  
Buffy turned back from watching her Watcher and spun. Well, this was new, This is the second time in a row she'd had to pick up a kid on her turn. Buffy put the pink piece in the car. 


End file.
